Kirjahaku

As heard on BBC Radio 4's Woman's Hour'Ireland and its people know that Fiona Doyle is a trailblazer' Sunday Independent'A wrenching read ... Doyle resists giving her story a Hollywood gloss' Irish Independent'[A] hopeful, horrific read' Ray D'Arcy, Today FM'A testament to her resolve and courage. A remarkable story by a remarkable woman' Irish Times'Always inspirational' National Women's Council of Ireland @NWCI'Fiona Doyle is a hero' Roisin Ingle @roisiningle'Well worth reading' Colette Fitzpatrick, MidWeek, TV3Too Many Tears is the moving and inspiring story of how Fiona Doyle came through the agony and humiliation of being sexually abused by her father, how she foudn the strength to seek justice, and how she coped when, at the final hurdle, it appeared that he was about to escape prison.For as long as she can remember, and well into her teens, Fiona's father raped and abused her. Her mother blamed Fiona for leading him on. The effects on her life were catastrophic.Fiona first reported her father, Patrick O'Brien, to the authorities in the early nineties but the police investigation went nowhere. She made a second complaint in 2010 and this time, it appeared, O'Brien would face the consequences of his crimes . He, pleaded guilty to sexually assaulting his daughter and Fiona assumed the next time she came to court, he would be going to jail.Instead, shockingly, having suspended nine years of a twelve-year sentence, the judge released O'Brien on bail. Three days later, following a national outcry and questions in parliament, the presiding judge expressed his 'profound regret' to Fiona Doyle and sent O'Brien to jail.Too Many Tears is Fiona Doyle's story of abuse and its aftermath - the turmoil and isolation she experienced as a child and young girl, the devastating price she continued to pay in her adult life, and how finally she had the courage and tenacity to take on her father - and the authorities - to make him face up to what he had done. It is a startling and inspiring story of survival and hope against the odds.

Lyrical and urgent, Fiona Doyle's play Coolatully is a compassionate insight into the links between the economy, masculinity and society in the modern world. Kilian was once Coolatully's pride and joy, its champion on the hurling field. Now the village can't muster a team, the country's shutting down, and Eilish wants to leave for a new life across the ocean. As Irish history repeats itself, Kilian must confront the demons of the past and decide whether to stay or go forever. Coolatully was the winner of the 2014 Papatango New Writing Prize in association with the Finborough Theatre, London, where it premiered in 2014.

A deeply provocative thriller set in a blighted landscape where nature is fiercely taking its course, Deluge is a gripping drama from the Papatango Prize-winning author of Coolatully. There's something uncanny going on at Joe and Kitty's farm. Precious feed is mysteriously disappearing from the hay shed and prized livestock is being slaughtered at night whilst sinister shadows lurk in the darkness. With fodder running out and no money left, Joe and Kitty, like their desperate neighbours, will stop at nothing to protect themselves and their cherished land. But at what cost? Fiona Doyle's play Deluge won the 2014 Eamon Keane Full-Length Play Award, and was premiered at Hampstead Downstairs, London, in April 2015.

A man in his forties and a woman in her twenties meet on a trip to Berlin. Across a fractured timeline where past and present collide, the story of their relationship, their love and their struggle unravels. Fiona Doyle's play Abigail premiered at The Bunker, London, in 2017. The play was shortlisted for the Eamon Keane Full-Length Play Award.

London, present day. The body of an unidentified young man is found face down in a suburban street. Who is he and where did he come from? He has no ID and nobody witnessed anything. It's as if he has just fallen from the sky… Pathologists and police working on the case must uncover the truth and piece the story – and body – of this 'John Doe' back together. A breakthrough sends DC John Kavura into overdrive and as his investigation unravels, he uncovers a haunting story of our time. Inspired by real events, Fiona Doyle's play The Strange Death of John Doe is a powerful and poignant drama that premiered at Hampstead Theatre Downstairs, London, in 2018, and was a finalist for the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize.